Andagoste battle 38 b.C. North Hispania. First time in Eng.

[Iagoba]

Well, It took time, but here you have the (first, AFAIK) adapted translation to English of an article (avalaible in Spanish here), by Jose Antonio Otxarán Larrondo. My additions and comments are in blue

It has been publicated (seems that only in Spanish) in those congress:

I Congreso de Arqueología Militar Romana en Hispania (Segovia)
II Congreso de Arqueología Militar Romana en Hispania (León)
X Congreso Numismático Nacional, (Albacete)

To which I had no access.

I may ask you to forgive all the spelling, vocabulary, gramatical and style errors I may have had :oops: . I´m not used to translate and less, this kind of text.

The earth removing of a trench to supply water to the villages of cuartango Valley (Alava, Spain) gived us the oportunitty to discover new archeological remains.

The work on the site, from the years 1998 to 2003, allowed us to expose the oldest remains of the Roman era in Basque Country, a battle between roman legionaries and indigenous troops.

All the archeological findings were made in a space of 300x400 meters, an the surrounding area was sterile except one “corridor” of 40x400 meters. The ausence of ceramic remains indicates that there this was never an inhabited area, so we can consider those findings as a closed group, not contaminated.

The most important findings were:

-The perimeter of the camp (castra aestiva) that the Romans made for their defense, having to breack up the rock (limestone slabs) due to the shallow earth stratum. The ditch found it´s 103 meters lon in the North side and 93 meters in the East, both join together in a circunference quarter (“playing card” corner). Its width it´s 2 meters and 0,5 meters deep.

-114 “glands” lo lead pieces, almod shaped, with weights from 25 to 50 Grams. Those were sling projectiles. Only one was found before in the Basque Country (*)

-More than 600 caligae hobnails. They are great sized, of the “old” type (used before the 22 b.C. When they change the size). Of this “old” size there were no findings before in Basque Country.

-Besides, tribolata (three spiked) arrow points, pilum points, spear lower ends (“contera” or “regatón” in Spanish I cannot remember nor find the word in English :oops: ) ballista dart points, dagger quillons...

-Iron rings, fibulas, toque heads, a small, a (broken) corn mill (of the type carried by the legionaries)...Also, Alesia type fibulas. Only three were known in Spain before. In Andagoste were found 4.

-In short, more than 1000 findings of military equipment.

The found coins, besides giving the date of the battle, solved some numismatic problems:

-Before was though that the practice of broking coins to get divisors was started around 27a.C., the soonest in 11a.C. Andagoste proves that inthe 40 a.C. It was already done.

-The forgery sistem. The lack of silver impulsed the state to forge their own coins, either by covering with sheets or dropping in liquid silver a nucleus of copper. Both ways have been found at Andagoste. Before, the sheet technique was discussed.

-The coin ARSE-SAGUNTO was unknow due to a change in the legend.

-But the most important thing of the found coins is that they give us an aproximation of the battle date:

-The oldest coins have Iberic signs and are from diverese mints, mostly from KELSE (Velilla de Ebro), as well UNTIKESKEN, BILBILIS, BAITOLO, ERKAUIKA, ARSE, TAMANIU.

-Besides 7 coins of the type JANO/PROA imitating those minter in Rome, (Pompeyan wars 49 a 45 b.C.), there is a bilingual CEL obverse- KELSE reverse (reverse in Iberic characters). It´s dated in the years 44-45 b.C.

-The most recent coin was the COLONIA LEPIDA wich was the renamed KELSE condemned to lost her name after helping Pompey. The proposed datation of this emmision with the obverse PRQVIN, wich it´s considered the first of the colony, it´s from 44 to 42 b.C.

-So we have, then, a collection of coins numerous for the 40´s but not one posterior to 42 b.C. Even as the mints of Ebro valley continue striking up to the 30´s. This indicates that the battle date must be around the 40 b.C.

[another paragraph about numimatics. There were two choices, or delay some issue dates, or accept it. Finally, an inedit -and unnamed- expert sets the date to the 38 b.C.]

Also, two hispanic-arab coins from around the 1000 a.C.were recovered.

The important archeological findings usually are form the prehistoric times: Atapuerca, etc.But archeologic findings that incide, changing or filling the history, are rare. To my mind* there are two important ones: The late antiquity burial site of Aldaieta (Ullivarri-Gamboa, discovered by José Angel Apellániz) and the Andagoste battle. The first showed us details about the VI-VII centuries, wich were completely unknown, and the second makes us change the spread idea of a pacific Roman invasion of the Basque country, due to pacts, or too weak forces to opose. We thought that happened like in Navarre, where the Bascones were allies of the Romans (and got territorial compensations, spreading up to Jaca, Calahorra -Calagurris-). But no. Here were fought, as ten years laten in Cantabria and Asturias.

In short, the battle of Andagoste may would have been this way:

Somewhere around the year 38b.C.1 an army of around 1200-1800 Roman soldiers 2 Composed by legionaries, some of them veterans of the Gallic wars 3, joined by auxiliary troops 4 were in the Cuartango valley. They come or went from attacking a (native) castro5 when they were attacked by indigenous troops 6 In a uninabited hill. The Romans tried to make a castra aestiva but they were unable to finish it and that defensive emplacement was useless, as there was fight inside. Seems that the indigenous won this battle.7.

* I usually do openly this statement to provoke the mentioning of more interesting historic findings.
1) Allowing a couple of years up or down.
2) Deducted from the size of the camp, as the relation between number of men and size were standard. We don´t know if they were being constructing it when the indigenous surprised them, or if they were forced to do it under attack. In that case, the number may be superior to the indicated.
3) The iron rings, proper od Roman citizens (!?), indicate that they were legionaries. The Alesia fibulaes suggest us that they took part in Gallic Wars.
4) At least there were slingers (and archers...)
5) They carried heavy war machines: scorpios
6) Fíbulas, torques, “Monte Bernorio” dagger quillons...
7) The fight inside the castra, the escape corridor to the nearest escape from the valley, the abandoned casualties (as the dispersion of caligae hobnails shows us)

[Iagoba]

And now, the maps, photographs and so:

The place at Google maps With Google Earth (search "kuartango") you can get a goos sense of the "enclosed" valley, only open to the North, and the river Bayas (ibaia, "river" in Basque) narrow gorge to the South. Between the valley and the mountains, it´s there a diference of around 1000-1200 feet.

Ocharan thinks that the name (cuartango) and certain toponimy comes from the veterans of the IV Macedonica stablished there after the Cantabric Wars.


Google Earth, view from the camp


Same as above, but from the gorge. The camp it´s an bit down of the place marked "kuartango"

The map made in the early site investigation in 1998 by Ocharan and Unzueta, taked from “La romanización en los valles cantábricos alaveses. El yacimiento arqueológico de Aloria” . The map only shows one fourth of the objects, and has incorrections in many ways, due to it´s early and provinsional status . The book doesn´t have more info on Andagoste, BTW:


Map key:
Ditch
Enclosure (?)
Center
Hobnails
Sling leads
Weapons
Ornaments
Coins

The battle in the news (all in Spanish, otherwise indicated):
[url:1ja156g9]http://www.deia.com/es/impresa/2006/04/22/bizkaia/d2/241499.php[/url]
[url:1ja156g9]http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20090308/125986/es/Andagoste-cuando-indigenas-Euskal-Herria-vencieron-romanos[/url]

Two videos, of the new documentary:
[url:1ja156g9]http://www.kuartango.net/html/andagoste.html[/url]
[url:1ja156g9]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvKoaYrhY94[/url]
the photo gallery of the filming

Triptic of the exhibition in the casa-torre (tower-house, or strong-house) of Urbina-Basabe, near the battle site (and also over Roman remains), with the only photos of the findings I found online:
[url:1ja156g9]http://www.kuartango.net/eventuales/triptico.pdf[/url]
There is also a quite nice and huge battle miniature.

Part of the findings are also shown at the new Archeological Museum of Alava, in Vitoria. No photos allowed, but I´m trying to get allowed.

[NightHunter24]

Ave Iagoba:

I'll say this in Spanish: Para no estar acostumbrado a este tipo de traduccion creo hicistes muy bien. Es bien dificil traducir expresiones de un lenguage a otro porque se pierde mucho el sentido de lo que se trata de explicar.

Very good job...man don't you just love Google maps? You can now see a mostly acurate representation of different terrains when years ago you had to rely on book descriptions.

Regards,

[Iagoba]

Thanks :wink:

A couple of photos more, this time from the documentary (in which I took part, along some commilitiones of the Cohors Prima Gallica wich has the ©):

The mountains:


The limestones surfacing:

I think the battle site was preserved due to this, as it´s agriculturally useless for +2000 years.
Luckily, this time we had mechanical diggers :roll:

One anecdote (now funny) is that I said, "this place is a shit,there are stones just everywhere" and I kicked one, forgeting I wore caligae, open at the front. A nasty bleeding wound was granted by an agressive stone in my big toe. That day I gave my blood for Rome, mate! :lol:

Also, I have to say that the aparently ridiculous ditch and stakes were hard to pass, even without Romans on top. :!:

[Iagoba]

Most criticism comes about the interpretation of the "hobnail" trails (mmm...where else I have read this? :wink: ) And if the camp was attacked, and then the Romans retreated, or if the Romans were attacked and then made the camp.

Beside this, the Roman contingent, was much less than a Legion, but still a quite big number to be challenged (and more with sucess).

Also, I suspect that a torque may not be a "celtic" proof at all, but of Roman military origin. At least it´s a possibility, to be taken in account. :roll:

I leave now the discussion to you :wink:

[Jona Lendering]

Thanks for this information!

[Iagoba]

Ocharán has contacted with me recently.

The final publication it´s scheduled for 2010. Some of the info posted here were work hypothesis, as the dispersion map shown above.

[D B Campbell]

Any news, Iagoba?

[Iagoba]

No news. :?

I´ll try to get a photo from the stuff showed in the new museum, but as it´s a "let´s-be-misterious-and-dark" one, making photographs is quite tricky. All objects aren´t shown, and those shown not explained or labelled :evil: but I remember some things that could be scorpio darts and a spherical orange sized, stone, if that´s you´re looking after, Campbell :wink:

I´m currently more centered on a medieval mail research, but once I got the permission to make photographs, I´ll do as many as I can... :roll:

[Alexandr K]

Great information, Iagoba! Thank you very much!

Don't you know in what language will the final report be?

Greetings
Alexandr

[Narukami]

Sorry that I am late to the party -- I just stumbled on this :oops:

Good work Iagoba -- Many thanks for your efforts.

:wink:

Narukami

[Iagoba]

No problem, Narukami!

I went this morning and managed take some photos with my easily concealable mobile phone ignoring, er,certain visitor signs. :roll: (in Spanish it´s said "de estrangis")

More or less in order:

Projectile points (arrow/bolt?)
Coins (top left one with a silver seathing, forged)

Caligae hobnails, broken mill, round stone (artillery projectile?)

Sling leads.

I hope that soon I´ll have te oportunity to take them more "officially" :wink:

PS: I Had always read your nick as "Nakurami" :x